Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING by Nicola Yoon has a bit of supernatural effect combined with learning to tango in a properly provocative way. Yoon, author of several young adult novels including Everything, Everything, introduces readers to Evie and to X (short for Xavier). Reeling from learning that her Dad has been having an affair and wants to get re-married, Evie ends up taking dance lessons and discovers that she has an unusual ability to see the future for kissing couples. X is an aspiring musician and grandson of the owners of the local dance studio. The two are paired to compete and help promote the studio. She is generally more reluctant while he wants to “live in the moment” and say “yes” to everything. In classic Yoon style, the two reflect that “the time we get is the time we get” since “life almost never turns out the way you think it will.” Both main characters and their many friends are appealing and INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING is a quick read. As Evie says about events in the novel: “It was beautiful. But it was sad, too. Both things, and at the same time. I don’t know why so much of life is like that.” Well-deserved starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.